


Cooking and Conversations

by WrittenTrash



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: CherryBlossom, Cooking, Fluff with a Sprinkle of Angst, M/M, Might fuck around and make a part two, Really you could read this as Gen, Redpuff - Freeform, Self Harm, SpicyCinnabun, Underfell, Underfell Sans, buuut it’s supposed to be gay, ficlet to get over writers block, from Papyrus’s perspective, hint of domestic abuse, or maybe more cooking lessons and words of wisdom, please excuse any formatting issues, posted on mobile at midnight, some cooking and conversations, tw abuse, tw self harm, undertale papyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27613654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrittenTrash/pseuds/WrittenTrash
Summary: It’s easier to talk about hard topics when you’re busy doing something else. Red and Papyrus have a conversation while Red tries to remedy Papyrus’s spaghetti recipe.
Relationships: Papyrus/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21





	Cooking and Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> Love this rare pair. I have no idea why it’s not more popular. Also no one could decided on a ship name it seems?

Red scratched at the inside of his eye socket absently. His claws scraping shallow cuts into the inside of his skull. The rhythmic sensation and faint melody were hypnotic. It was a habit that Red had picked up in his youth, and one he couldn’t break. It helped ground him in moments that he felt reality begin to slip like dust between his fingers.

A loud muffled argument was ongoing in the living room. Red couldn’t find it in himself to care when he could dull the ache by scratching at his bones. However, the hushed screaming began to get louder. It was hard to ignore what was happening in the background as it continued to escalate.

“...no right... Don’t you… the effects… ”

“...judge me….self-righteous... No idea...family...!”

“You’re a monster!”

Dull pain became sharp as Red dug his claws harder into his skull. He felt sickening sleek marrow seep from the scratch and the world faded again. Red felt a flood of relief as the world muted again and the only thing left was the haunting music of bone scratching bone. Red was vaguely aware of warm marrow sliding down the inside of his skull. It was almost as satisfying as the act of scratching itself.

A heavy hand settled onto Red’s shoulder. If his mind weren’t so foggy, Red would have jumped in alarm at the sudden presence. As it stood, he only stilled his hand and glanced at the owner of the hand on his shoulder. Boss hovered over him. No— not Boss. The fog lifted enough for Red to recognize his brother’s doppelganger. Pap’s bone brows furrowed and his mouth grimaced. 

“Sup,”

This nonchalant attitude only seemed to sour Pap’s mood more. He suddenly straightened and walked over to the sink. Red watched the skeleton grab a towel and hold it under running water before he returned to Red’s side. Papyrus pulled over a kitchen chair and sat down beside him.

Red gazed absently as Papyrus dabbed at his face. When the towel pulled away, red marrow spotted it. Red sat motionless, letting his brother’s double do as he wished. He felt as though he was watching himself from the doorway. Aware of everything going on, but it was happening to somebody else. Pap gently took Red’s hand away from his eye socket. With new access, Papyrus dipped the towel into Red’s injured socket and dragged the cloth against the fresh scratches.

That was a new sensation. One almost as pleasurable as creating the scratch in the first place. Red had to hold himself back from purring out a pleased groan.

Red watched Pap’s face as the skeleton wiped away the marrow. Only then did Red realize his mouth was moving. Red tried to force his mind back into himself. 

“— better if they spend more time— oh! Are you feeling better, Red?”

Red blinked slowly at Papyrus, his mind was still groggy. “‘M okay,” Red mumbled.

Papyrus hummed softly. Red could see a comment forming on his tongue, but whatever Papyrus was about to say, he decided against it. “There, much better,” Papyrus said, admiring his handy work. It occurred to Red that he had never heard this version of his brother speak so softly before.

“You must be hungry,” Papyrus said, standing and walking to the oven. He began rifling through cabinets. “Aha!” Papyrus grabbed a box of spaghetti noodles, “Everyone loves spaghettini.”

“If ya say so,” Red mumbled to himself. He felt a wave of exhaustion as he watched Papyrus dance around the kitchen, grabbing various items here and there. Red was almost asleep when he was snapped awake by the cracking sound of fire.

“Holy shit!”

“Language,” Papyrus gasped. He turned to Red, a hand on his hip bone and a dubious expression on his face. “Now, what’s all the fuss about?”

“All the… Pap there’s a fuckin fire,” Red exclaimed, becoming very alarmed at the sight of a flaming pot on the stove. 

Papyrus gasped again before pointing a wooden spoon at the smaller skeleton. “Red, I know you’ve had a rough day, but you are a guest in this house. And as such, you have to follow the rules of this house and that means no swearing,” Papyrus scolded.

Sweat began to bead on Red’s skull as he continued to gape at the destruction before him. “Fine, fine, no swearing. But Bo— Pap! The fire!”

“Hmm? Oh yes! That is the secret ingredient to my world-famous spaghetti,” Papyrus boasted, striking a pose.

“Ya gotta be jokin’ me,” Red said.

“No jokes here, angry Sans,” Papyrus began to stir the flaming pot of spaghetti noodles. “The fire adds a nice smokey flavor and a very distinguished texture,” Pap said. 

  
  


Suddenly, Red felt an indignant rage at whoever told this softer version of his brother those lies. “Who told ya that cra— garbage?”

“My amazing mentor, Undyne! Truly she is a marvel both on and off the battlefield. I owe everything I know to her strict and intense training sessions,” Papyrus said. Red was baffled. The chump was proud of himself. He had no idea that he was being lied to and that his cooking probably tasted god-awful. Though, there was one detail that struck Red as odd.

“Didn’t yer brother teach ya how to cook?” 

“Sans? Of course not, why would he know how to cook?”

Red opened his mouth to argue but paused. This universe was so different from his own, he supposed he didn’t know what was the same or different here. He never actually asked the Tale brothers who the older brother was. “Sorry, I just assumed Sans was older than ya, cause… you know….” Red drifted off, not wanting to call out Papyrus’s childish tendencies. 

Papyrus paused in his “cooking” and turned to Red with a questioning look on his face. “Sans is older, what does that have to do with anything?”

Now, Red was confused. “I mean… who took care of ya when youse was just baby bones?”

“My brother,”

“ _ Right _ , so… who cooked for ya?”

Papyrus opened his mouth to reply before pausing and stopping. He seemed to consider Red’s words carefully. From the way he looked, Papyrus seemed to be confused by the logic.

“Ya don’t remember?” Red guessed.

“N-no… I suppose I don’t… huh?” Papyrus scrunched his brows and looked down at the flaming pot of spaghetti absently. After a few moments, when Paps didn’t move, Red decided he would help the other monster.

“Okay,” Red said loudly, catching Pap’s attention, “Lucky you, I’m a bit of a cook myself.” Red shrugged off his thick coat, not wanting to get it stained, and made his way over to Papyrus. He glanced around for a step stool and set it up so that he could reach the impossibly high sink they had.

“You’re… you’re going to cook… with me?” Paps asked hesitantly.

“Sure, why not?” Red replied, hoping the hesitance in Pap’s voice wasn’t an indication that he took offense to the offer. However, when Red caught sight of Papyrus, he could practically see stars in the taller skeleton’s eyes. Red’s grin twitched and he felt sweat begin to form on his skull as a sudden nervousness overcame him. His brother hadn’t looked at him like that in years.

“First thing first,” Red grabbed the flaming pot and extinguished the fire under some running water. “Do ya got more ingredients?”

Papyrus’s dimmed expression brightened again and he puffed out his chest. “Of course! I always keep a well-stocked kitchen.” Papyrus began pulling out the necessary ingredients. “You know cooking is one of the best ways to form life-long friendships,” Paps said as he milled about.

“Yeah? Where’d ya hear that?” Red asked, chuckling.

“I forget where, but it’s science!” Paps said. With all the ingredients on the counter, Red finished rinsing the pot and filled it with clean water. He put the pot on the stovetop and clicked the dial to high. 

“We start by boiling some water,” Red instructed, “and it boils faster if we put a lid on it.”

Papyrus quickly grabbed a pot lid from a cabinet and placed it on top of the pot. Red nodded and grabbed a second pan that was nearby. He placed the pan onto the stovetop and clicked on that burner as well. “Got any fresh garlic?” Red asked.

Papyrus made a quick dash to their fridge before coming back with a bulb of garlic. “To start the sauce we need to crush this garlic and saute it in the pan,” Red instructed, handing Paps a knife. He shucked the garlic quickly and handed Papyrus half of the bulb. “You know how to crush garlic?” Red inquired, a crooked smirk formed when he saw the fire in Papyrus’s eyes. Instead of using the flat end of the knife, Papyrus began to smash the garlic with the blunt end of the handle. Red decided not to comment on it, their cooking lesson was going to be an uphill battle.

Once done with the garlic, Papyrus looked to Red for the next instruction. The shorter skeleton tossed some olive oil into the pan that was on a simmer of heat. “Add the garlic and this,” he grabbed a can of tomatoes and handed it to the other skeleton, “into the pan and stir.”

Papyrus did as he was told and Red took the knife from him as he finished peeling an onion to chop. Not that he didn’t trust the good-natured skeleton, but the less Pap’s handled a knife the better. Red placed the onion on the chopping block and readied his knife. As he came closer to the onion, Red then realized the rattling of his own hands. He took a breath to try to ease himself, but his hand only continued to shake. The breakdown he had had only moments earlier must have taken more out of him than he realized.

Papyrus cleared his nonexistent throat but kept his gaze steady on the pan. “Red, perhaps we can switch? I’m— uh— not sure if I can keep this from burning,” Papyrus said, apparently noticing Red’s dilemma. Red realized what he was doing. Leave it to Papyrus to offer help in such a way Red would be inclined to take. Perhaps this version of Papyrus and his brother were more similar than he first realized. Both were able to be manipulative, but this softer version of Papyrus was doing it to spare Red his pride rather than doing it to hurt him. But, Red looked down at his still shaking hands, it wasn’t like he had much of a choice.

“Sure thing, Cream puff,” Red said, switching spots with the taller skeleton. Red could see the edges of the garlic beginning to darken. He quickly grabbed the chunky tomato sauce and poured it into the pot. He gave a few stirs before lidding the pan and deciding to watch Papyrus— “What are ya doin’?” Red screeched, feeling his soul jump as he watched Papyrus slam down the knife with reckless abandonment. Papyrus paused, raising his brows.

“Chopping?”

“Ya don’t— yer gonna lose a finger like that,” Red cried. “Look,” Red moved closer to the taller skeleton and placed his hand over Papyrus’s hand. While Red could still feel his bones rattle, Papyrus was keeping their hands steady. “Keep your fingers together like this,” Red squeezed Pap’s fingers together, “and keep your hand on the onion and  _ behind  _ the knife.”

Red placed his other hand on top of the hand Papyrus held the knife in. “Yer also holdin’ the knife wrong,” Red said, adjusting Papyrus’s wrist, “Yer cookin’, not fightin’. Stop holdin’ it like a weapon.” He lifted the hand holding the knife gently and pulled Papyrus’s other hand back slightly before he pushed the knife carefully down into the onion. “Every time the knife goes up,” Red pulled Papyrus’s fingers further back, “your fingers move back,” Red repeated the steps a few more times until the onion was cut vertically. He then turned the cutting board and placed Papyrus’s hands to cut it horizontally. “Now you try,” Red prompted.

Papyrus looked between the onion and Red in uncertainty. “It’s okay, you’ll do fine,” he encouraged. Papyrus preened at the words and began to chop on his own. While it wasn’t perfect, it certainly wasn’t bad. Red nodded in approval and patted Pap’s arm in praise. Red then lifted the lid and motioned for Papyrus to toss the onions into the sauce.

Red began to stir the sauce once again as he noticed the pot of water was at a boil. “Grab some spaghetti noodles, and put them in the water. Give it a few seconds and then twist the noodles with that,” Red pointed to a pair of tongs, “so that they’re all submerged in the water.”

“What about the smokey flavor?” Paps bemoaned.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll add it to the sauce,” Red said.

That seemed to cheer up the taller skeleton. As they continued to cook in silence, Papyrus’s usual smile drew down into a straight line. His bone brows lowered as he stared vacantly at the pot with stiff shoulders. Red had seen that look before more times than he could count.

“What’s on your mind, Pap?” Red asked.

“You… you said before that you thought Sans could cook because he’s the older brother. Because he took care of us when we were both young? I don’t… I don’t remember much of my youth, I’m afraid,” Papyrus chuckled mirthlessly.

Red glanced at Papyrus, but otherwise stayed quiet and listened.

“This whole time I was trying to remember, but I can’t. I find it a little troubling if I’m being honest with myself,” Papyrus admitted.

“What’s the earliest memory you have?” Red asked.

Papyrus clicked his teeth and paused. For a moment Red wondered if he said the wrong thing. He was about to apologize when Papyrus spoke, “I remember Sans stumbling through our front door.” Papyrus began stirring again as he continued, “He had been missing the whole day, I have no idea where he was. He came home dirty and smelling like the dump. He was crying and shaking and— and rambling about… something,” Papyrus quieted a moment before adding, “At the time, I thought he was talking nonsense, now, I wish I had listened to what he was saying,” Paps whispered. “He doesn’t like to talk about that night, he acts like it never even happened. That was also when he started having nightmares.”

When it seemed that Papyrus was done with his story, Red commented, “Sounds like somethin’ bad happened. Somethin’ yer brother wants to protect ya from.”

“I suppose,” Papyrus sighed. The face he was making only deepened. The look of disappointment on Papyrus’s face pulled at Red’s soul in a way very few people could do. Red could guess what Papyrus wanted to ask. Seeing that the other skeleton was desperate for answers, but hesitant to ask, Red decided to throw the other a bone.

“You want to know what that memory mighta been about,” Red prompted. He looked at Papyrus and slowly, Paps nodded. Red breathed a sigh and thought about his words carefully. “Our universes… are very different. Maybe what happened to youse two was the same thing that happened to us… maybe it wasn’t. I can’t tell ya for certain what happened that night.”

Papyrus looked down solemnly, seeming to have expected the answer. “But,” Red continued, absently added a few spices into the sauce as he stirred, “That sounds like a similar thing that happened to me and my bro,” Red caught Papyrus glancing at him hurriedly from the corner of his eyes. He felt bad the other skeleton seemed so desperate for answers that his brother wasn’t providing. 

“Was yer brother ever a scientist?” Red asked suddenly.

Papyrus raised a brow at the seemingly random question. He began to shake his head but paused in uncertainty. Red smiled something empty of warmth. “Figures, my bro doesn’t remember when I used to be a scientist neither,” Red sighed. When he closed his eyes Red could practically see the events flash before his eyes. Memories threatened to steal him away from the present. Red’s fingers curled around the wooden spatula with a strength that threatened to snap it in half.

He opened his eyes and looked at the concerned skeleton beside him. Red breathed out. “I’m not gonna go into too much detail, okay?”

Papyrus nodded.

“That day was my last day working as a scientist,” Red sighed, setting down the wooden spoon onto the counter. ”I used to assist the Royal scientist who built the core. Monsters always said he was crazy— and don’t get me wrong— he was! But that night he was planning something that was... I tried to stop him— we fought. And—” Red stopped. He hated talking about this. Remembering Gaster was bad, but remember Gaster’s demise was so much worse. It made something ugly curl into his soul

“What’s the difference between protecting your friends and destroying someone for your own justice?” Red asked no one in particular.

“Red?”

“Heh, I guess that doesn’t matter anymore,” Red said, a shark-like grin returning to his face. “Anyway, that night the royal scientist— my old boss— disappeared. Bam! Erased from existence. Everyone forgot ‘bout him. Everyone but me. And the world kept turnin’ like he never even existed. Scary, huh?” Red looked to Papyrus’s face that thinly veiled true shock. “That’s probably why you can’t remember a lot of your youth, a big chunk of that had to do with Gaster.”

“But… but why?” Papyrus snapped suddenly. Red did his best to not flinch, but from the struck look on Papyrus’s face, he didn’t hide it that well. Papyrus seemed to rein in his anger somewhat and continued, “Why would the royal scientist being erased from existence cause me to lose my memories?”

“That— it’s complicated.”

“H-how does that even happen?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Why can Sans remember, but not me!?”

“It’s complicated,” Red snapped, losing his patience at the barrage of questions he didn't want to even think about.

This time, Papyrus flinched. Red immediately felt a wave of regret. He’d done a lot of crappy things in his lifetime, but never had Red felt lower than dirt. Papyrus sulked, looking at Red as though he betrayed him. Red rubbed the back of his skull. He couldn’t tell Papyrus everything— he didn’t even know if their worlds were the same in this regard. Still, Red looked at the dejected look of his brother’s doppelganger and felt a pain in his soul. Maybe a half-truth would make him feel better.

“I don’t know if it’s the same fer youse guys, but we spent a lot of time at the Royal Lab when you were still a baby bones,” Red answered.

Papyrus stared down at the cooking food. “I suppose that’s all you’re willing to tell me?” Papyrus asked.

Red looked away. He knew he would crumble if Papyrus pressed the issue, but he could feel the grips of a panic attack lingering. “Look, you want answers and I get that, but another time, Cream Puff,” Red sighed. 

“Okay,” Papyrus said quietly. A moment passed before Papyrus suddenly swept Red into a hug. The smaller skeleton’s eyes widened in surprise. Slowly, Red relaxed in Papyrus’s hold and gave the other skeleton an awkward pat on the back. “T-thank you, Red. I really can’t tell you how much this means to me,” Papyrus said into Red’s shoulder.

“Okay, okay, don’t get sappy on me, big guy,” Red chuckled. Papyrus sniffled and placed the smaller skeleton back down. Red grabbed two plates. “Come on, the food’s done.”

Papyrus drained the spaghetti before making up two plates. The two sat beside each other at the kitchen table. Red watched as Papyrus took his first bite of spaghetti. The moment his mouth closed around the fork full, Papyrus’s eyelights practically turned into stars. Red quickly shoved spaghetti into his mouth to keep himself from smiling. 

“Wowie,” Papyrus exclaimed loudly. “I don’t think I’ve ever had food  _ this  _ good,” Papyrus praised before shoveling more food into his mouth.

Red’s face flushed with magic. ”Aw, it’s not that good,” Red said with a wink.

“Gee, you must have had a master’s chef mentor. How’d you learn to cook so well?” Papyrus inquired in between bites.

Red twirled his fork and moved the food around the plate. “Nah, it’s all self taught. Being poor is a pretty good motivator to learn how to cook. Not being able to waste ingredients, ya learn how to use ‘em. Plus we didn’t have the money to get take-out much,” Red answered with a dismissive shrug.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Red, that was incredibly rude to me.”

“Nah, ‘s okay, ya didn’t know,” Red waved Papyrus off.

The two continued to eat in comfortable silence, the front door opened and their missing brothers emerged from the doorway. Red noted his brother had a new bruise on his cheek. He looked at his own double sharply. Sans seemed to be completely unmarked. Red made a mental note to change that later.

“Heya, bro, you make some spaghetti?” Sans asked, waltzing into the kitchen to inspect the pot of food.

Papyrus grinned at his brother. “Actually, Red helped me cook,” Papyrus said proudly. Red purposefully avoided his brother’s calculating gaze and continued to eat in silence. Sans seemed equally surprised, but that didn’t stop him grabbing a plate of food for himself and Edge.

“Really?” Edge asked incredulously. He accepted the plate of food from Sans without comment.

“Yes! Did you know your brother was such a great cook?” Papyrus asked innocently.

Edge made a low noise that rumbled in his nonexistent throat. “Yes,” he said gruffly, aggressively pulling out a chair to sit down in. “I’m simply surprised. Sa—  _ Red _ has not cooked in a very long time,” Edge said. 

Red glanced at Papyrus and gave him a wink. The other skeleton’s cheeks colored with orange magic as he smiled back.


End file.
